I worked full time in the months leading up to the birth of the Pamper Pirate for the company with which I started my career. What was originally supposed to be temporary employment for ten weeks as the team was particularly swamped with work, was extended to twenty weeks, which was extended to the Friday COB before the Sunday I went into labor. My original plan was to just not go to work ever again and devote my time to the Pamper Pirate. Truly delusional of me.
Several months after childbirth and the onset of the pandemic, my old office reopened. I had not logged on to my computer until eleven days after I gave birth in order to wrap up a few items. After it just sat in the standard issue laptop bag. But it was finally time to return my computer and my key fobs and pick up the personal office supplies that I brought in at the beginning of my latest tenure.
Cut to a month later. I was asked to return to work in a part-time capacity. I parented while my husband was at the office, and picked up my work when he returned home for the day. That, again was supposed to be temporary, but that was over a year and a half ago and I am still with the company.
One of the silver linings of the pandemic is that it made ~some~ employers open to working from home. Before departing the states, I had a discussion with my vp in regards to continue work while I was out of the country. I keep the same schedule as when I was in the District but now when I sign in for the evening, it is concurrent with the east coast team firing up their machines. The pandemic proved to many employers, including my own, that working from home was possible.
While we lived at our home in the District, not only was the pandemic obviously a surprise thus requiring an office space in the home, but so was the Pamper Pirate. We rented a one bedroom apartment under the understanding that it would be the two of us for fourteen months. The pandemic extended our time in DC, as my husband’s overseas assignment was postponed. It ended up being the two of us, the Pamper Pirate, and my office space set up at the dinner table for twenty months.
Now that we are in a much larger flat, I have a set up that better accommodates my needs even though it is technically in the kitchen. I like it because it faces out to the park and I can still monitor happenings in the apartment. Not only is the space big enough for my three monitor set up and yes, my work requires all three, but the space allows me to finally use my Kate Spade Lifeguard Press office supplies. The supplies keep me organized and my workspace attractive and a fun place to be.
I also have to shout out to my Herman Miller Cosm chair. We bought it from Millésimé in Philadelphia Old City; it has made several moves. From Philadelphia, to DC, to Nur-Sultan, it transports beautifully. We are getting so old, we truly need that full lumbar support.
